Week 12: Math Meets Probability

Mathematically, no one new has clinched the playoffs or been eliminated.  Rob is the current six seed is 6-6, and with two games to go, Brandon and Scott who are both at 4-7 could win out and catch him. However, they are behind on total points, and the schedule doesn't appear to be kind to them.

The YLE's (skYLEr, tYLEr, and kYLE) are all 5-7 and could mathematically catch Trevor who is at 7-5.  They are all behind on points, but Tyler and Kyle could reasonably make that up in two weeks, Skyler would have to out score Trevor by 70+ points each of the next two weeks to catch him. If they all won out, Trevor lost out, and the 6-6 teams won, Trevor could still be eliminated.  So as the title said, the math says it's possible, but the probability of it is low -- similar to BYU making the CFP.

Game Recaps

Skyler vs Tommy: This was projected as the battle of ineptitude for good reason, but instead it ended up being the bonanza.  The game was decided by less than 4 points, but it wasn't even the Weekly or Nightly Nail Biter, or the Monday Nightmare/Miracle.  Games this close often come down to one or two plays, or one or two decisions.  For example, if Skyler had kept Elliott instead of Seibert, he would have won by 0.08. On the other side, if Tommy's kicker doesn't miss a couple of field goals, this is a double-digit win and we aren't even having this conversation.  Tommy was led to victory by 3 players scoring 20+ (Stack of Nix and Sutton, and Scary Terry), while Skyler only had 2 (Daniels and Waddle).  The biggest difference in this game though was seen with the single-digit scorers.  Skyler had 4 people score single digits, while Tommy only had 1.  This win guarantees Tommy won't finish as the first 1-loss team in league history.

Jordan vs TJ: This was supposed to be the bonanza, and Jordan pulled his weight as the only team to hit 150+ this week, but the Bye-mageddon was too much for TJ to overcome.  This was only the 2nd time he has scored under 100 all season -- the other time being week 1, also against Jordan. Jordan was led to victory by 3 people scoring 20+ (the Texans DST, Josh Jacobs, and the fantasy season MVP Saquon Barkley). TJ's stack of Rams (Stafford and Puka) also got 20+. TJ had 4 people score single digits, while Jordan had 3.  The biggest difference in this game was Saquon going for 46, which was more than TJ's top two scorers.  That being said, this was enough of a blowout that Jordan could have sat Saquon and still won by double digits.

Kyle vs Tyler: This was the underrated game of the week.  It didn't score a lot, it was only the 3rd closest game, but it was a big deal for the playoff hunt, and it included a come-from-behind win thanks to Lamar.  A Kyle win would have put him to 6-6 and it would have put Tyler on life support at 4-8. Instead, they are tied at 5-7 and the tiebreaker is manageable enough that Tyler could overcome it if things break his way.  Tyler had 3 people score 20+ (Lamar, Jakobi, and Jonnu), while Kyle had 2 (Mahomes and Pollard). Kyle had 5 people score single digits, while Tyler only had 3.

Matt vs Rob: Another victim of the Bye-pocalypse, Matt lost in the blowout of the week.  This was his first time getting under 100 on the season.  Rob put the beatdown on thanks to Tua and Jahmyr each scoring 20+.  They actually combined for 60, and if Rob only played them, Matt would have only won by 24 points (he lost to Rob by nearly 60 for context). Matt had no one score 20+ points this week, but fret not dear reader, we will not leave Matt's accomplishments out -- he had 5 people score single digits.  That's more than half his team scoring less than 50 points. Rob only had one person score single digits

Scott vs Brady: This was another blowout, but not the blowout.  Brady had two players score 20+ (AJ Brown and his Kicker), while Scott had 0.  Speaking of 0, Scott wishes his DST scored that high (it was -1).  Scott had 6 people in single digits (including negative single digits), while Brady only had 2.  This blowout would have been more had Brady's top 2 RB's not both left with injuries.  This was also the battle of ineptitude.

Brandon vs Trevor:  I was distracted by my own game, but this was the game of the week.  It was decided by 1.26 points.  Herbert had enough of a good game for Trevor, and King Henry didn't do enough to offset the Chargers DST for Brandon.  I can't imagine a stat correction will come into play, but you never know. There are so many one off plays that could have changed the course of this game, so we won't dive down that rabbit hole. Trevor had two players score 20+ points (Trey and Nico), while Brandon had three people score 20+ (Achane, Kupp, and Kittle). Trevor also had 5 players score single digits, while Brandon had 4. I am legitimately incredibly confused how Trevor won.  I suppose if the DST scored 8 more points, they still would have been a single digit team, and Brandon would have won by about a TD, but the overall blog metrics would have been the same.

Award Season

MVP: I wanted to give it to Saquon as the best player on the best team, but he wasn't even necessary for the win.  I will split the award though between Courtland Sutton and Trey McBride for scoring their highest games of the season during and incredibly close week.

LVP: Another split -- Seibert had his lowest game of the season, and Downs scored single digits for the firs time since week 7.

Luckiest Team of the Week: Trevor wins this award for how he won, and also because he only outscored 4 teams this weeks.

Unluckiest Team of the Week: Only 3 teams would have beat Skyler this week, and he was matched up with one of them.

Highest Scoring Team of the Week: Jordan 

Lowest Scoring Team of the Week: Matt

King of the Court: Tyler takes it from Kyle, and goes up against TJ, normally a juggernaut, but maybe he’s trending down? Or maybe that was just the bye week. 

Game Previews

Stupid Reminder that there will be a Black Friday game on Amazon this week. How many prime commercials will there? The small, small bonus, I suppose, is that the game will be for anyone who has an Amazon account, and not just an amazon prime account.

Skyler (9) vs Scott (11): Skyler has 2 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 0 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Scott has 0 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 2 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. 

TJ (2) vs Tyler (7): TJ has 2 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 0 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Tyler has 5 player on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 1 player in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. 

Kyle (8) vs Jordan (1): Kyle has 2 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 0 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Jordan has 3 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 0 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. 

Matt (3) vs Brandon (10): Matt has 3 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 1 player in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Brandon has 2 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 2 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. 

Trevor (4) vs Rob (6): Trevor has 2 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 2 players in primetime. He has 0 player on bye. Rob has 3 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 1 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. 

Tommy (12) vs Brady (5): Tommy has 2 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 4 players in primetime. He has 2 players on bye. Brady has 3 players on Thanksgiving/Black Friday and 2 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. 

Playoff Update

Playoff Scenarios

Matt, TJ, Jordan -- In

Tommy -- Out

Trevor -  7-4 If he beats Rob, he is locked into the playoffs.

Rob and Brady - 6-5 If they win and all the 5-6 teams lose, they are locked into the playoffs. Brady will win the division with a win and a Skyler loss.

Kyle, Tyler, and Skyler - 5-6 If Kyle and Tyler lose and Rob wins, they are out.  Brady winning or losing will not affect Kyle or Tyler. A win keeps them all alive. 

Scott, Brandon - 4-8 If they lose or if Rob wins, they are out. Brady winning or losing doesn't affect them.

Divisions and Seeding

West: TJ and Jordan are still fighting for their division, but Jordan beat down TJ by so much this week that the tiebreaker difference is now at 6 points, which is easily overcome in the last two weeks.

South: Matt still leads the division, but Trevor still has a small chance to win it. A Matt win or a Trevor loss makes Matt the division champion.

North: Anyone but Tommy can still win, but it will be incredibly difficult for anyone to catch Brady given the current schedule and tiebreakers. A Brady win and a Skyler loss gives Brady the division.

There's a lot of you who I need to lose, so I hope you do.  Same to the teams in the B12 ahead of BYU.

Week 11: Clear As Mud

We have now wrapped up the non-division part of the season, and we will start the home stretch of our rivalry games over the next three weeks.  As a fun (or maybe not so fun based on how last week went for you) reminder, week 11 was when we played all the matchups we missed out on for years because of the league layout and the NFL league schedule.  Those dark days are now behind us, and we all play each other every year.

The Triumvirate of 8-win teams became the Holy Trinity of 9-win teams (in the name of a 2-time champ, a pre-historic champ, and a championship virgin, amen) and look to be the clear favorites in the playoffs.  I thought Matt locked up his bye week, but there's a small possibility that Trevor can win out, while Matt loses out, and Trevor catches Matt on the points tie-breaker.  Matt's win guarantees the North will not get a bye in the playoffs this year.  I was guessing it was the first time in a long time, but it turns out the last time they missed out on a bye week was 2022. TJ and Jordan are in a heated battle for the other bye week, and they play each other this week. This week won't settle it, but the winner will be set up nicely.

Lastly, it is mathematically confirmed that the members of the first presidency of fantasy football are all in the playoffs and that Tommy is officially eliminated.  That means there are 3 spots left with 8 teams fighting for said spots over the next 3 weeks.

Game Recaps

Skyler vs Jordan: This game was 0.58 away from being a 60-point blowout.  Yet somehow, this isn't even the biggest blowout of the week. Jordan had 4 people (A Rodg, Saquon, Jacobs, and the Texans DST) score 20+, Skyler had 0. Jordan had only 2 people score in single digits, Skyler had 5.  Not much more to say from this breakdown as Jordan took the lead during the Sunday morning game, and never gave it up again.

Scott vs Rob: In the second of the four blowouts this week, Rob beat Scott by a solid 44 points.  It was a close back-and-forth game for a while, but then Rob took off like a rocket near the end of the Sunday afternoon game and never looked back. Rob had 3 people (Jameis, Jennings, and Higgins) score 20+ points, while Scott had 0. In a strange turn, Rob had more people score single digits than Scott, (4 to 3), but Scott's 3 combined for 10.2, while Rob's 4 combined for 24.3 aka Rob's single-digit players averaged double the points of Scott's single-digit players. This was the battle of ineptitude this week as it was the only match to not break the the combined 240 mark.

Tyler vs Trevor: This is the third of the four blowouts, and it was actually the blowout of the week.  Trevor beat Tyler by 59.62, which was only 0.2 points more than what Jordan beat Skyler by.  This blowout was made possible by Trevor putting up a very good 162.6 points.  Why was it not great you ask? Find out in the next recap. Back to this recap, Tyler wasted a 35-point (34% of his points this week) game from Joe Mixon, while Trevor had 3 people score 20+ points. Herbert was 20+, Breece scored 30+ and Taysom went for 40+. Tyler didn't do himself any favors by having 5 players score in the single digits, while Trevor only had 3. Trevor led this one comfortably wire to wire.

Matt vs Brady: Thankfully not every game was a blowout, and this was one of the two games to be decided by less than 10 points.  This was also the bonanza of the week as this was a matchup of the 1st and 3rd highest-scoring teams. Brady took the lead Thursday behind a solid Eagle and Commander and then watched as his Lions put up some great points.  Unfortunately, those Lions stopped putting up points, and Matt's Lion took off. Brady still had the lead the whole week up until JK Dobbins went on his crazy end-of-game TD run, which gave the Chargers and Matt the win.  The twist of the knife was when Dalton Schultz played on MNF and ran up the score ever so slightly.  Matt had three 20+ point scorers (Goff, JSN, and Chase) while Brady also had 3 (Allen, Monty, ARSB). Each team also had 3 people in the single digits, and neither one had someone score <5. The combination of their big 3 (each of the 20+ people) was less than 2 points apart (in Matt's favor).  The combination of their small 3 (single-digit people) was less than 3 points apart (in Brady's favor). The 3 middle people favored Matt by 10 points, which got him his win.

TJ vs Tommy: The 4th blowout of the week was TJ beating Tommy by over 31 points. For two brief moments, Tommy had a lead, but TJ didn't let it last long. TJ had 3 people score 20+ (Burrow, Puka, and Bowers), while Tommy only had 1 (Nix). Fun fact, a few weeks ago, a very good source tells me that Tommy was offered Nix but turned down the offer.  Turns out he made the smart move to simply scoop him up off the waiver wire. Anyway, both teams had 4 players score in the single digits.  Tommy's scored 12 fewer points than TJ's, which explains some of the loss, but the much bigger margin was in the 20+ point group.

Kyle vs Brandon: This was the closest game of the week, so it will get the nail-biter of the week award.  There was no nightly nail-biter on Monday and no Monday Nightmare/Miracle, so we'll say those awards go to this battle.  There was some back and forth early, and then Brandon took a big lead on Sunday night.  Unfortunately, that big lead was his defense, and they slowly got whittled down while McConkey slowly went up for Kyle.  Their paths crossed late in the game, and unfortunately for Brandon, there was no last-minute pick-six to give him a tie game, which would have been a first in league history.  Unfortunately for Brandon, he missed the announcement that Kittle was out.  Brandon mentioned to the group that Kincaid would have gotten him a tie, which would have been hilarious.  Sadly, it didn't happen. It would have been great had their been a tie for the King of the Court, but Kyle is the undisputed King.

Award Season

MVP: Dobbins and McConkey had the late-game heroics to seal their close wins, but Boswell doubled his average while also kicking three 50 yard FG's in one game (6 total in the season before this week) wins the award this week

LVP: From the same matchup the LVP will go to the Chargers.  They were averaging over 11 points a game but only put up 2 (season low) in a game decided by 8. Or maybe the award should go to not being on top of roster management?

Luckiest Team of the Week: Kyle was the lowest-scoring winner (7th total points), and he won off some last-minute heroics against a guy who missed that his TE was out.  The stars lined up, and he took advantage of it.

Unluckiest Team of the Week: Brady was the 3rd highest scorer, and lost by less than 10 points.  A big part of that is thanks to Goff not throwing to Brady's players, and Dobbins scoring a last-second TD.

Highest Scoring Team of the Week: Matt by 4 points

Lowest Scoring Team of the Week: Skyler goes back-to-back and gets the award this week.

King of the Court: Kyle takes it from Brandon.  It will now reside in the West until the playoffs.  There's an off chance that Kyle (or Tyler) could have the crown, and still miss the playoffs.  If that is the case, I haven't decided how to track it during the consolation.  I don't normally cover the consolation in the blog, but those games matter for draft picks, and they feel like they should matter for the King of the Court.  Hopefully, this matter resolves itself before we get there.

Game Previews

Skyler (8) vs Tommy (12): Skyler has 1 player on Thursday and 2 players in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. Tommy has 1 player on Thursday and 0 players in primetime. He has 2 players on bye. So much ineptitude this game.

Jordan (3) vs TJ (1): Jordan has 1 player on Thursday and 1 player in primetime. He has 4 players on bye. TJ has 1 player on Thursday and 3 players in primetime. He has 5 players on bye. This is the front-runner for the bonanza

Kyle (5) vs Tyler (11): Kyle has 2 players on Thursday and 1 player in primetime. He has 3 players on bye. Tyler has 0 players on Thursday and 2 players in primetime. He has 3 players on bye. There's a shot at the battle of ineptitude here as they are the other 2 teams (with Tommy and Skyler) to be under 1,300 points for the season.

Matt (2) vs Rob (6): Matt has 0 players on Thursday and 2 players in primetime. He has 3 players on bye. Rob has 0 players on Thursday and 3 players in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. 

Scott (10) vs Brady (5): Scott has 2 players on Thursday and 2 players in primetime. He has 2 players on bye. Brady has 0 players on Thursday and 1 player in primetime. He has 3 players on bye. 

Brandon (9) vs Trevor (4): Brandon has 0 players on Thursday and 3 players in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. Trevor has 1 player on Thursday and 1 player in primetime. He has 3 players on bye. 

Playoff Scenarios

Matt, TJ, Jordan -- In

Tommy -- Out

Scott, Brandon, Tyler -- These are the 4-7 teams. If they lose and if 2 of the 4 teams that have 5 wins (Brady, Skyler, Rob, and Kyle) get to 6 wins, they will be behind the 6 seed by 2 games with only 2 games to go.  It would be quite a hole to dig out, but not impossible.  They cannot mathematically be eliminated this week, but a loss makes it very hard for them to come back.

Brady, Skyler, Rob, and Kyle -- The 5-6 teams can't clinch or be eliminated this week.

Trevor -- The lone 6-5 team, if he wins and all the 5-6 teams lose, he will have a 2 game lead with 2 games left to go.  He wouldn't mathematically clinch, but he would be in a great spot.

Divisions and Seeding

West: TJ and Jordan are both fighting for the bye week, and this week sees them play head-to-head.  The winner will take a commanding lead.  TJ currently leads the tiebreak by around 65 points.  A win this week would see him move to a 1 game lead and a likely 70+ point lead.  He wouldn't guarantee himself the division, but it would be hard for Jordan to catch up. If Jordan wins, he would have the same one-game lead, but he would likely still be behind on points, and if TJ were to sneak a win back, he would be back in the lead over Jordan,

South: Matt will win the division once he wins a game or Trevor loses a game.  Even if Trevor wins out and Matt loses out, Trevor would also need to overcome an 80+ point deficit to beat Matt on a tiebreak.  Matt's at >99% to win the division.

North: Anyone but Tommy can still win. This will likely come down to the wire.  As mentioned above, this division cannot get a first-round bye. Depending how weird this gets, we could see the division winner be the 7th seed overall, but still make the playoffs as a division champion.  It's not likely, but it's possible.

Mail Bag Questions

Hey Commish, I'm insecure about my team record, but I noticed the top two members of the Division of Champions have the same record as me and I want to dunk on their whole division during a down year where they all have a losing record after week 11.  Can you let me know if any other division has been this bad before? (edited slightly from the original submission) - Anonymous

Hey Anonymous, I'd hate to help you out, but here you go. Back in 2021, everyone in the South division had a losing record. If you don't remember much about that year, that was the first time everyone in the North made the playoffs -- the first and only time to date that every team from one single division made the playoffs. It was also the first year of the expanded schedule.  The South also did the same thing in 2018, and the North pulled it off in 2011. So congrats to the West for never having everyone suck all at the same time.  Another fun fact that you didn't ask for, but I wanted to make sure to include, 2011, 2018, and 2021 were all years that a team from the North won a championship.  We shall see if history repeats itself.

Week 10: Cloudy The Future Is

After another week of chaos, the math is still undecided.  It's possible that the 8-2 teams lose out, finish 8-6, and all the 4-4 and 5-3 teams catch them and eliminate them on tiebreaker, but it's incredibly unlikely -- especially since two of the 8-2 teams will play each other later in the year, and one of them will have to get to 9 wins (which would mathematically guarantee a playoff spot).  It is also possible that Tommy wins out, and the right combination of teams win or lose, and Tommy could sneak in on a tiebreaker, but that's incredibly unlikely. No 8-win team has ever missed the playoffs, and no 5-win team has ever made the playoffs -- we haven't had a 6-win team make the playoffs in nearly 10 years, and likely won't with the 14-game season.  These next 4 weeks are crucial for all of the 5 and 4 win teams.  Given the schedules and the fact that 8 teams are in that win range, it should be a wild end of the year.

Game Recaps

Skyler vs TJ: TJ won by 40, and it was only the 3rd biggest blowout of the week.  Joe Burrow put up a 40 burger on Thursday night, and the game was essentially over from that point on.  TJ had no other 22+ point players and had 3 single-digit players.  Skyler had no 21+ point-getters and had 5 people score in the single digits.

Brady vs Rob: This was the closest game of the week, and Rob got the win thanks to Kyren getting over 5 points on MNF, which designates this both the nightly and weekly nail-biter, as well as the Monday Nightmare/Miracle.  Brady had Chase Brown score 21+, while Rob had Kelce and the Eagles DST hit that mark. Rob needed that extra person scoring 22+ as he had more people score single digits (4) than Brady did (3).

Scott vs Matt: Matt was a top 2 scorer this week, and Scott was a bottom 3, which is a perfect recipe for the blowout of the week. Matt had Ja'Marr Chase on Thursday night and never needed to look back after that. Matt had no other 22+ point scorers.  Scott actually had two 21+ point scorers, but it didn't help that he had 6 people score single digits.  Time out, hold on just a minute, Scott started an inactive player? I was excited about Scott being in the North, but today, I am not. I’m very disappointed and will talk to the commissioner (myself). This was not fair to our division. I'm disgusted that it didn't actually make a difference though since he didn't have anyone on the bench who would have won him the game.

Tommy vs Jordan: Jordan got a solid win by having two 22+ point scorers, while Tommy only had 1 player score 21+.  They both had 5 single-digit scorers, so Murray going for 30+ is what really sealed the deal.  This loss essentially knocks Tommy out of the playoffs, not that he had much hope before this.

Tyler vs Brandon: This was the second biggest blowout of the week, with Tyler doing most of his damage in roughly the second quarter of the game (if you look at the point chart).  Fortunately for him, he didn't totally fall apart at halftime, and he was able to get the win. Tyler had two people score 22+ plus, while Brandon had zero people score 21+.  In an interesting twist, Tyler had 3 people score in the single digits, while Brandon had 0 score in the single digits.  Despite having his whole team score in the double digits, Brandon lost thanks to Tyler having a few heavy hitters (Lamar going for 40+ on Thursday night) getting the job done. This gets Tyler the King of the Court

Trevor vs Kyle: Trevor got a narrow 8 point victory over Kyle, which was only the 2nd closest margin this week.  Kyle tried for a Monday Night Miracle, but Tyreek only ended up with 11.7 points. Tyreek has only scored over 13 points once this season, so while he probably had some hope, this score should have been in his expected outcome.  Trevor got the win despite only having one player score 22+ points.  Kyle also only had one player score 21+ points, so it made Trevor's low output ok. The difference appears to be Kyle having 4 people score in the single digits, while Trevor only had 2.

Award Season

King of the Court: Tyler takes it from Brandon this week.

Highest Scorer of the Week: Tyler

Lowest Scorer of the Week: Skyler

Luckiest Team of the Week: Jordan was the lowest-scoring winner, but he was still a top 6 team, so it's not that lucky.

Unluckiest Team of the Week: Brady was the 8th highest-scoring player, so he wasn't really unlucky, but losing on MNF by such a narrow margin will give him the award.

MVP: Ja'Marr Chase going for 55 on the second-highest-scoring team of the week gets the award this week

LVP: Let's go with Josh Allen and his 2 INT's.  That's -4, in a 7 point loss, and maybe one of those drives that ended early would have been for a TD.  It's a weak case, but I'm making it.

Skyler (6) vs Jordan (3): Skyler has 2 players on Thursday night and 0 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Jordan has 1 player on Thursday night and 2 players in primetime. He has 2 players on bye. 

Scott (7) vs Rob (10): Scott has 1 player on Thursday night and 2 players in primetime. He has 2 players on bye. Rob has 1 player on Thursday night, and 1 player in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. 

Tyler (9) vs Trevor (5): Tyler has 0 players on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Trevor has 0 players on Thursday night and 2 players in primetime. He has 2 players on bye. 

Matt (2) vs Brady (4): Matt has 0 players on Thursday night and 3 players in primetime. He 2 players on bye. Brady has 2 players on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. 

TJ (1) vs Tommy (12): TJ has 0 players on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Tommy has 1 player on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 2 players on bye. 

Kyle (11) vs Brandon (8): Kyle has 0 players on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Brandon has 1 player on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime.  He has 2 players on bye.

Good luck to me and whatever is best for my playoff chances this week.  I can't wish anyone else luck because it's too tight right now.

Week 9: The Playoff Picture Appears, But Doesn't Look Like Anything Yet.

With 5 weeks left to go, no one has clinched a playoff spot or been eliminated.  However, Tommy cannot finish in 1st, 2nd, or 3rd, while Matt, TJ, and Jordan cannot finish last.  Everything else is still up for grabs though.

Game Recaps

Skyler vs Rob: This was 1 of 3 games that featured a person under 100 points, but it somehow wasn't the battle of ineptitude (mostly thanks to Rob). Skyler had Daniels and Jefferson go for 20+, but had 5 single-digit players (4 of them had <5 points).  Rob also only had 2 players score 20+ (Darnold and Kelce), but 6 of his other players also scored in the double digits, which led him to his victory.

Matt vs Tommy: This was the 2nd game to feature a person under 100 points, and this one was the battle of ineptitude and the blowout of the week.  Tommy had a sad sub-80 score, while Matt was a catch away from clearing 130.  Matt had Dobbins, Otton, and JSN each in the 20+ point tier, while Tommy had none. Matt had 3 players in single digits, Tommy had 5...and one of those had negative single digits. 

TJ vs Trevor: This was the 3rd and final game that featured someone scoring under 100 points.  This one was the closest of the 3 matchups as TJ only won by 27-28 points.  He got said win by having Joey B be less than a point away from 40 points (with 4 players scoring double digits). Trevor had no one go over 20, while he had 5 players score double digits.

Jordan vs Brandon: Brandon didn't have the blowout of the night, but he did blow out Jordan this week by nearly 40 points. Brandon had 5 players score 20+ (Baker, Henry, Achane, Kupp, and Chargers DST), while Jordan had Barkley and Wilson (they both actually went for 30+) in the same club. The other big help was Brandon only having 2 players in single digits, while Jordan had 5. Brandon's win means he keeps his crown this week.

Tyler vs Brady: This was the weekly and nightly nail-biter, and also had a Monday Nightmare/Miracle -- or at least a light version of it.  Brady had an 8.7 lead going into MNF, while Tyler only had his DST to play.  Tyler took the lead by virtue of the game starting, but then he slowly started coming back down.  Unfortunately for him, he dropped just enough to give Brady the narrow win. While the Chief's DST was the primetime play, the game really came down to Brady only having 2 players in single digits, while Tyler had 4. Both players had 2 players score 20+ (Brady: J. Allen and C. Brown. Tyler: Lamar and Bijan)

Kyle vs Scott: This was the bonanza this week as the 3rd and 4th highest-scoring teams squared off in the 2nd tightest game of the week. Scott pulled off the victory (and got himself back in the playoff discussion) thanks to Hurts going for 30+ and Davante Adams and the Rams DST going for 20+.  Not to be outdone, Kyle had Mahomes go for 30+ (best game of the season), and Kamara go for 20+.  Kyle had 3 players score in the single digits, and Scott only had 2.  Due to those minor adjustments in Scott's favor, he got the narrow win.

Award Season

King of the Court: Brandon

King of the Course: Back, due to (semi) popular demand, King of the Course gets Tommy a shoutout this week -- but we shall see how much longer he will get this shoutout.

Highest Scorer of the Week: Brandon

Lowest Scorer of the Week: Tommy

Luckiest Team of the Week:  TJ was the lowest-scoring winner this week (8th highest), so he gets the award this week.

Unluckiest Team of the Week: Kyle was the highest-scoring loser and 4th highest-scoring team this week, so he'll get the award this time.

MVP: Chase Brown scored a season (and maybe career?) high for Brady in a week when he won by less than 3 points.

LVP: Mark Andrews had his lowest score in a month, and cost Tyler the win by not keeping up with his recent standard.

Game Previews

Game Previews

Skyler (5) vs TJ (1): Skyler has 0 players on Thursday night and 3 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. TJ has 2 players on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 3 players on bye. 

Rob (10) vs Brady (4): Rob has 0 players on Thursday night and 3 players in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. Brady has 1 player on Thursday night and 2 players in primetime. He has 1 player on bye.

Matt (3) vs Scott (6): Matt has 1 player on Thursday night and 2 players in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. Scott has 0 players on Thursday night and 0 players in primetime.  He has 1 player on bye.

Jordan (2) vs Tommy (12): Jordan has 0 players on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 2 players on bye. Tommy has 0 players on Thursday night and 0 players in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. 

Brandon (7) vs Tyler (11): Brandon has 1 player on Thursday night and 2 players in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Tyler has 2 players on Thursday night and 2 players in primetime. He has 4 players on bye. 

Trevor (8) vs Kyle (9): Trevor has 0 players on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 0 players on bye. Kyle has 1 player on Thursday night and 1 player in primetime. He has 1 player on bye. 

Playoff Scenarios

If the 6 seed is ahead of a lower seed by more games than there are weeks remaining, the lower seed is eliminated.  For example, Tommy is in last place and has 1 win, and the sixth seed (and 3 other teams below him) has 4 wins.  Tommy would need to lose his next two games, and any one of the teams with 4 wins right now would need to win his next two games to eliminate Tommy.  Fortunately for Tommy, 2 of the 4 win teams play each other this week, and another one is playing a 7-2 team, and then the next week, 2 of those 4 teams play each other again.  All of that is a convoluted way of saying Tommy could be eliminated by the end of week 11, but it would be highly unlikely.

Similarly, the 7-2 teams could all lock the playoffs in two weeks if they win out, and three of the four 4-5 teams lose out during those two weeks.  However, we know that some of the 4-5 teams play each other, so unless Brandon, Scott, and Trevor all lose out the next two weeks, we won't likely see all the 7-2 teams guarantee a playoff lock in two weeks.

So everyone, even Tommy, still has something to play for, and no one is safe from elimination.

Good luck to everyone but Rob this week.